Pay Review Hoped To Aid Recruiting

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30543, 11 September 1964, Page 3

Pay Review Hoped To Aid Recruiting

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, September 10. Difficulties in recruiting for New Zealand’s armed services were very largely associated with pay, the Secretary of Defence (Mr J. K. Hunn) said today.

He said the Minister of Defence (Mr Eyre) had announced that a comprehensive review of pay and conditions was to be made in the hope that this would stimulate recruiting. This review was now under way.

“It will take some time. It is a big exercise because there is a different pay code in each of the services which we will have to try and reconcile,” said Mr Hunn. There would be reasons offered why some pay differentials must be continued. Mr Hunn said the department was also looking at recruiting methods. Several proposals were being considered including combining services’ recruiting officers in the main cities.

“At present all services have their own recruiting officers. “If, for example, we only had one officer recruiting for all services in Auckland, we would have two officers available for all-service recruiting in other areas,” he said. The department was also considering putting recruiting vans On a tri-service basis. At the moment they were only being operated by the army.